Man indicted for Chase Bank robbery in Orange

The federal grand jury of the Eastern District of Texas indicted Samuel David Sanford III, 35, on Jan. 23 for the Dec. 19, 2012, robbery of JP Morgan Chase Bank in Orange.

The Orange Police Department (OPD) investigated the bank robbery that occurred at approximately 11:15 a.m. at the Chase Bank at 3109 N. 16th St. According to a news release from OPD Captain J. E. Davis after the robbery, witnesses told police a white male entered the bank and demanded money from the tellers with a handwritten note. He was given an undisclosed amount and fled the scene with a white female in a white 2000 Ford F-150, police reported. After the robbery, the vehicle was seen traveling north on 16th St. towards Interstate 10. Police believed the truck was traveling to Louisiana.

OPD Captain Cliff Hargrave said OPD identified the suspect almost immediately after the Chase Bank robbery.

According to police, just prior to the robbery, an alert citizen at a nearby business noticed a man acting suspiciously. Upon learning of the robbery, the citizen contacted police with the subject’s license plate number. Based upon the tip, OPD detectives and the FBI identified the suspect as Sanford. Sanford was arrested in Shreveport, LA on a robbery warrant from a separate incident in Galveston County, according to Captain Hargrave, and remains in jail there as of Wed., Jan. 30. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 if convicted on the bank robbery charges.

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